“I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on past experience,” said Herculano-Houzel in the study.

The good news for cat lovers is that cats have about the same number of those neurons as bears even though a bear’s brain is about ten times larger.

The researchers analyzed the brains of other animals like lions and hyenas as well, comparing the number of neurons in their brains compared to the size of their brains.

Herculano-Houzel said that studying the brains of different species is important. “Diversity is enormous. Not every species is made the same way. Yes, there are recognizable patterns, but there are multiple ways that nature has found of putting brains together. And we’re trying to figure out what difference that makes.”